Ivory rushed for 99 punishing yards and the first touchdown of his NFL career.

Graham, meanwhile, amassed season-highs in catches (five) and yards (72) while playing in place of injured starter Jeremy Shockey.

Their performances bolstered a unit that compiled season-highs in total yards (494) and passing yards (382) despite playing without Shockey or injured running backs Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas.

"We are on the cusp," Saints quarterback Drew Brees said afterward. "We had some weapons last year, but I think we have some guys emerging now that we really have a lot of places that we can spread this ball around."

"Today we played at times as well as we've played all season. That gets you excited because you feel like, man, we're knocking at the door. Just imagine if we can continue to kind of get all the weapons back."

Ivory earned every one of his 99 yards against the Seahawks. By my count, 68 of his yards came after initial contact. It's why Seahawks coach Pete Carroll afterward gushed, "I thought Chris Ivory was a freaking beast out there."

Ivory now leads all rookie rushers with 481 yards, ahead of more-heralded first-round picks C.J. Spiller, Ryan Mathews and Jahvid Best. Moreover, his 4.8-yards-per-carry average is tied for sixth among the league's leaders.

The potential for the Saints offense is scary. When and if Bush, Thomas and Shockey return, the Saints are going to be ridiculously deep with skill-position talent.

It's a nice problem to have if you're Sean Payton.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Brees was as sharp as he has been all season. He was 2009 sharp. After the opening three-and-out, he guided the Saints to touchdowns on five consecutive drives and it would have been six if not for a "what the heck?!" interception in the red zone on the seventh series. His 382 yards were a season-high. They also marked the 34th 300-yard game in his five seasons with the Saints, the highest total for any NFL player over any five-season slice of NFL history.

PRESSURE REPORT: Gregg Williams mixed in his usual array of pressure packages but was not as aggressive or exotic as usual. Seattle did an excellent job of protecting Hasselbeck and kept him "clean" for the most part. They used a lot of backs and tight ends in protection to prevent Hasselbeck from taking too many hits on his injured left wrist. The wily Hasselbeck also got rid of the ball quickly the few times the Saints did bring the heat. The result was a very quiet day for the Saints defense. They finished with no sacks and only one quarterback hit.

ZEBRA REPORT: Mike Carey is one of the most respected officials in the game and it showed on Sunday afternoon. His crew was on top of every call. I didn't like the roughing the passer call against the Seahawks just before halftime but otherwise I thought they got everything else right. The two big holding calls against Jahri Evans and Carl Nicks were both correct and they got every replay call correct. Outstanding effort by Carey's crew.

SCOUTING REPORT: Not many folks know this but Matt Hasselbeck was the quarterback the Saints wanted back when they tried to swing a trade with the Packers back in 2000. Green Bay wouldn't part with Hasselbeck and offered the club's third-string quarterback, Aaron Brooks, instead. The rest is history. I always wonder what might have been for the Saints and Jim Haslett if they could've swing that deal. Hasselbeck is one of the most underappreciated quarterbacks in the NFL. He's led Seattle to a Super Bowl and continues to play at a high level at age 35. He singlehandedly kept the Seahawks in the game on Sunday, despite playing with a brace on his injured left wrist. His 366 passing yards were the most against the Saints since Washington's Jason Campbell passed for 367 yards in Week 13 last season.

DIDYA NOTICE?: Drew Brees is notoriously secretive about his pregame breakdown chants but interloping FOX cameras caught his message to the team about an hour before kickoff. This season's incarnation of the chant begins with Brees yelling "Who Dat?!" and the players responding with "We Dat!" He then says repeatedly, "What do we do?!" and the players answer, "Win!"

NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS:

FIRST QUARTER:

The Saints opened the game in their traditional 4-3 front. They've gone away from the 3-4 look they used earlier in the season and only use is sparingly these days. Something tells me they'll break it back out for a special occasion soon, though.

Rookie defensive end Junior Galette entered the game on the second snap from scrimmage and rushed the passer from a stand-up position at right end. Galette, who had been inactive for eight of nine games, replaced Danny Clark in the lineup. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams promised on Saturday he'd unveil a new personnel package this week and he wasted no time in showing it.

Jake Ingram's first snap as a Saints was a little high but had good velocity.

Williams also got Anthony Waters in the game early, using him as a blitzer on the first third down of the Seahawks' second series.

Anthony Hargrove made the official tackle but Will Smith made the key play to short-circuit a potential flea-flicker play on the fourth play of Seattle's second series. Smith beat rookie left tackle Russell Okung off the edge and made tailback Justin Forsett eat the ball instead of attempting the pitch to Hasselbeck in traffic.

Interestingly the Seahawks came after the Saints best cornerback, Jabari Greer, with deep balls on each of their first three series. They missed on the first one but were able to connect for a 68-yard bomb on the second series to set up a field goal. Mike Williams toasted Greer with a double move and Hasselbeck hit him stride for the big gain down the Seahawks sideline. The 68-yard strike tied Browns punter Reggie Hodge's 68-yard fake-punt run for the longest play against the Saints this season. Greer did a remarkable job of running down Williams from behind to prevent a touchdown. Excellent hustle and it saved four points.

Usama Young made a big-time pass break-up to prevent a touchdown catch by Ben Obomanu in the back corner of the end zone on third down. Hasselbeck's pass was a tad underthrown otherwise he might have had Obomanu for the score because he was open.

Seattle's top cornerback, Marcus Trufant, learned just how powerful Chris Ivory is at the point of attack when he got run over by the rookie running back on the ninth play of the Saints' second series. Trufant injured his head and neck while trying to tackle the powerful Ivory and did not return to the game.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll raved over Chris Ivory in his postgame press conference, calling him "a freakin' stud." And indeed Ivory ran with renewed vigor and passion for most of the afternoon. He broke tackles on each of his first five carries, including a huge 24-yard run on third-and-1 in which he ran through a pair of tackle attempts near the line of scrimmage and bolted outside for the big gain. The run caused Fox play-by-play man, Thom Brennaman, to exclaim, "Man, this kid's a load!"

Ivory's soaring 1-yard touchdown plunge was reminiscent of Deuce McAllister. In fact, Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger columnist Rick Cleveland said he texted McAllister after Ivory's score and told him it reminded him of the former Saints great, to which McAllister replied, "I've heard that a couple of times before."

Ingram's snap on the extra point was high and tight but holder Chase Daniel did a nice job of catching it and getting the hold in place.

Greer never located the ball on the 42-yard reception by Obomanu on first down of the Seahawks' ensuing series after the Saints touchdown. Hasselbeck's throw was similar to the back-shoulder passes Brees has patented over the years.

The Seahawks burned a timeout before the end of the quarter to avoid a 12-men-in-the-huddle infraction on third down. Smart play by Hasseleback. Sloppy work by the coaching staff.

SECOND QUARTER:

A nifty catch-and-run by Meachem on a comeback route along the sideline. He eluded a couple of Seahawks defenders with some fancy footwork. That's a sign Meachem is completely recovered from offseason toe surgery. He gained 4 extra yards after the catch.

Tremendous pass and catch by Brees and Colston on the 23-yard scoring strike to cap the first series of the quarter. Brees threaded his pass between two defenders and Colston took a couple of big hits and still corralled the ball for the score. The TD pass extended Brees' league-best streak to 24 games with a touchdown pass.

With a 16-yard completion to Colston on third-and-10, Brees passed Boomer Esiason for 14th place on the NFL's career completions list with 2,971.

Ingram's snap on Hartley's third extra-point attempt was also high and wide. Daniel again showed terrific hands and reaction to catch the ball and get it in position for Hartley's kick.

It looked like Anthony Hargrove tweaked his left knee in kickoff coverage. He returned to the game but was listed on this week's injury report as limited for Monday's practice.

Really nice play call by the Seahawks to get their first touchdown in their goal-line offense. Ben Obomanu did a great job of decoying as a blocker at the line of scrimmage and then breaking cleanly into the middle of the field for the easy 2-yard TD catch.

Courtney Roby took a massive hit from Seahawks linebacker Will Herring on the ensuing kickoff return. I was impressed that Roby was able to get up and trot off the field under his own power. He got rocked.

The Saints caught a huge break on the roughing the passer penalty against Raheem Brock. The infraction, which was a questionable call in my opinion, extended the drive for the Saints and prevented them from punting the ball back to Seattle with 1:27 left. The hit came after a Brees' incompletion on third down but did not appear to be particularly late or flagrant.

Seahawks rookie safety Earl Thomas is going to be a good one but he was schooled by Brees on a 22-yard touchdown pass in the final two minutes. Brees drew Thomas to tight end David Thomas who was running a seam route down the right hashmark. When the rookie defender took a couple of steps toward the middle of the field, Brees instantly fired a strike behind to a streaking Colston on a seam route down the left hash.

Ingram's snap ate up Daniel on the fourth extra-point attempt. Daniel couldn't get the hold down and tried to beat the Seahawks to the edge. He almost made it but his knee hit the turf just before he was able to extend the ball across the goal line. Good call by referee Mike Carey.

Hartley got a tough break when his perfectly placed pooch kick took an unlucky bounce and went out of bounds, giving the Seahawks excellent field position at the 40 after the kickoff. Hasselbeck took advantage and marched the Seahawks to a field goal on the final play of the half.

THIRD QUARTER:

Savvy play by veteran center Jon Goodwin to break up a potential interception by junior Siavii on the first play of the second half. Brees' pass was batted high in the air and Siavii was in position to make the easy pick before Goodwin waylaid him in the back to break up the play. If not for Goodwin's quick thinking, Seattle would have had the ball and momentum inside the Saints' 30-yard line.

Roman Harper forced his fifth fumble of the season when he stripped Marshawn Lynch of the ball at the end of a nice run. Harper is having a Pro Bowl season and now ranks second in the NFL with five forced fumbles.

Brees almost certainly would have had his fifth touchdown pass of the game if not for the big right paw of Siavii, who batted down a pass intended for a wide-open Colston in the end zone. The play was set up nicely by a play-action fake to Ivory, who had carried the ball on the previous two plays. The batted pass was huge because Brees was intercepted in the end zone two plays later.

Brees made a poor decision on the red-zone interception by David Hawthorne but Payton's choice of play calls wasn't much better. He went to a jumbo formation with three tight ends, including the seldom-used Tory Humphrey split wide to the left. The Seahawks defended it well but I'm not sure about that call.

Scott Shanle's strip and fumble recovery capped a miserable day by Lynch, who lost two fumbles and dropped two passes.

FOURTH QUARTER:

Brees probably would like to have back the ill-advised screen pass he threw to betts on the second play of the quarter. The Seahawks were waiting on the play and Aaron Curry crushed Betts just after the ball arrived. This looks like the blow that knocked Betts from the game and landed him on the injury report this week with a head/neck condition.

Just a spectacular one-handed catch by Lance Moore to convert a third-and-10 play and pretty much take the life out of the Seahawks' slim comeback hopes. The Saints were able to pick on rookie corner Walter Thurmond after Trufant went down with a neck injury in the first quarter and this was just once instance. However, the rookie couldn't have covered Moore much better and the receiver still made the play thanks to his spectacular hands and athletic ability.

I couldn't help but think of Groundhog Day as I watched Hartley pull another short field-goal attempt to the left. The snap and hold looked good enough. But Hartley looked like he was a little quick on his approach, which has been his main problem this season.

Excellent challenge by Pete Carroll on the interception by Tracy Porter. The Saints corner clearly trapped the ball against the turf before corralling it into his arms. Good decision by Carey to overturn the call on the field.

The goal-line defense rose to the occasion again to force a late field-goal attempt. Seattle had two cracks at the end zone from the 3-yard line and couldn't get in. Jon Vilma stymied Forsett for no gain on third-and-2.

Mare's got excellent height on his onside kick but Lance Moore needs to come down with the ball in that situation. After all, that's why he's on the "hands" team. The Saints caught a break when Milloy failed to re-establish position inbounds after making the recovery, resulting in an illegal touch infraction. Heath Evans recognized the play immediately and alerted the officials.

Even though Ivory's arm was clearly down before the ball came loose, Payton rebuked him on the sideline for his shaky ball security. It's been an issue for Ivory and something he needs to stay on top of if he wants to keep his current role.

Jahri Evans' fourth holding call of the season nullified an impressive 36-yard burst by Julius Jones to convert a third-and-4. It looked like a good call. The four holding infractions equal a career high for Evans in season.

Humphrey showed some nifty footwork on his 12-yard reception in the right flat to convert a third-and-3. It was only the second catch of Humphrey's Saints career.

A curious decision by the Saints to go for a touchdown on fourth-and-6 from the 8 with 29 seconds left. Payton later said he didn't want to risk a blocked field goal but it looked like they were just trying to get a touchdown for Devery Henderson, who hasn't scored since Week 1. The decision obviously says a lot about Payton's confidence - or lack there of - in his kicking game.

PERSONNEL BREAKDOWN: Without Shockey, the Saints spent considerably less time in multiple-tight end sets than in previous games. Graham played a season-high 31 snaps, as did tackle-eligible Zach Strief. Chris Ivory also had a season-high 29 reps. Once Ivory got the hot hand on the ground, Payton called his number more often than usual. Mid-game injuries to Ivory and Betts midway limited Payton's play-calling and forced him to get creative with his packages. He did an excellent job of spreading around the "touches" and distributing the workload. The musical chairs obviously had no effect on the offense's productivity.

Here's a look at the Saints' personnel packages on their 72 offensive snaps:2WR/1TE/2RB - 22 out of 72 plays3WR/1TE/1RB - 16 out of 72 plays2WR/2TE/1RB - 12 out of 721WR/2TE/2RB - 9 out of 721WR/3TE/1RB - 6 out of 724WR/1TE - 5 out of 724WR/1RB - 2 out of 72